"Something about his voice, the way he sang, spoke to me," says Snyder, referring to Sinatra's music. As a young child, Snyder moved around frequently. He refers to his childhood as a sad and difficult time, living in upstate New York with his mother and a stepfather he says was abusive. One day the movie Air America came on TV, and Sinatra's song "Come Fly With Me" appeared in a scene. The song touched him so deeply, he held a small tape recorder up to the screen to record it; after that he would play it to himself repeatedly. He said it soothed a lot of his pain.

Eventually, Snyder said he and his mother moved to Los Gatos, to escape the abusive situation with her husband. He continued to listen to Sinatra and began dreaming of a career performing and singing. After starting Los Gatos High School, he joined the choir. Soon he had earned himself a solo in one of the choir's concerts.

Later, the school announced it would be putting on a production of the musical Guys and Dolls. Snyder remembered seeing Sinatra play a role in the movie version. He auditioned and earned himself the role of Arvide. The experience was inspiring for him.

"I definitely got the acting bug," he recalls. He went on to perform in many more shows through the end of his high school years, including Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream and Witness for the Prosecution with a local theater company that performed for children.

After graduating, Snyder auditioned and was accepted into California Institute for the Arts, a prestigious performing-arts college in Southern California. He changed his first name from Brian to Max, which he goes by to this day.

Snyder recalls his first year at the performing-arts school as tough, but says it really prepared students for what they needed to accomplish in order to become the best they could be. "They broke you down," he says, describing how the instructors told each individual what they were bad at and what they needed to work on during their time at the school.

"It was a great experience," he says of his time there. He was especially grateful for the exposure to all kinds of artists. Cal Arts had many instructors from schools such as University of California, Los Angeles, and University of Southern California, as well as a few famous alumni like Ed Harris, Tim Burton and Michael Richards of Seinfeld fame. While at Cal Arts, Snyder acted in many shows such as Marat/Sade, The Maze and Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale, to name a few. He was also given the opportunity to direct his first production, Eugene O'Neill's Hughie.

Directing opened up a whole other world for Snyder and gave him a new perspective he had not experienced before as an actor. He decided to pursue directing.

"I wanted an objective standpoint. As an actor, it was difficult going through the emotional aspects of each character—to live that, every day," he says. Snyder says he often finds it difficult to distance himself from the emotions of the characters he plays as an actor. Instead, as a director, he said the experience helps him become a more balanced, well-rounded actor and understand the discipline needed.

After graduating with his bachelor's degree in theater and acting from Cal Arts, Snyder applied to the graduate school of live directing at UCLA. He admits that he never expected to be accepted—UCLA's program is one of the most exclusive in the industry. Some years it admits as few as two students; some years it admits no one. Snyder was overjoyed when he found out he had been accepted.

Snyder says his time in the graduate program at UCLA was also a great experience, giving him even more valuable exposure. His favorite directing experience to date took place there, a production of Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis. He also got the opportunity to meet one of his idols, Robert Wilson.

"It was a very exciting process to meet him and sit in on some of his rehearsals and just to be exposed to such wonderful theater artists as they have at UCLA," said Snyder.

Snyder was in town over the Fourth of July weekend, visiting his mother and relaxing, having just been through his graduation from UCLA. Soon he will begin work on his newest project: working as assistant producer for a film by Black Stallion Productions in Los Angeles. He will be assisting Jeffrey Lampert, who has produced such films as The Princess and Me starring Julia Stiles and Laughter on the 23rd Floor, a TV movie starring Nathan Lane.

However, Snyder says that theater will always be his No. 1 love. Snyder said that his true dream is to move back to Los Gatos and open his own performing-arts center. He would like it to encompass theater, film and all kinds of visual arts. However, he knows he will remain in Los Angeles for a least a short while to come.

"I'm trying to establish myself in L.A. so I can hopefully someday move back," he says. He is looking for other interested parties to invest in his idea for the arts center.

In the meantime, he visits his mother, Judith Leach, whenever he can. She currently works as an esthetics manager of The Spa—Los Gatos.

Email Max Snyder at max_snyder@hotmail.com to find out more about his work.